


A bet gone seriously wrong

by Lakritzwolf



Category: The Mortal Instruments (Movies), Young Hercules
Genre: Head Shaving, M/M, it's not as bad as it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 00:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lakritzwolf/pseuds/Lakritzwolf
Summary: Written for the WinterFRE by gatheringFiKi on tumblr.Prompt 126: A lost a stupid bet and has to shave his head. B is horrified and tries everything to make it NOT HAPPEN. If it happens is up to you.I wrote two endings for this prompt. Chapter 1 is where it happens, chapter 2 is where it doesn't happen.





	1. Chapter 1

“You did what?!”

Iolaus flinched and hung his head in shame. 

“It wasn’t exactly one of my proudest moments,” he said. “Fuck,” he then added for good measure. 

Luke buried his hands in his hair and regarded his boyfriend who stood before him like a beaten dog. 

“Iolaus,” he said, gentler now. “It was a party. You were drunk. No one can possibly make you do this.”  
Iolaus looked up at him, his mouth a thin line. “Turned out none of us were too drunk not to remember,” he muttered. “They were giving me funny looks this morning.”  
“Funny looks?” Luke adjusted his glasses.

“You know,” Iolaus said and shrugged. “I mean I had a whole Sunday to do it, and here I show up Monday morning for lectures like this...” He tugged at his hair. “Ares said I’m a coward, and Jason won’t speak to me anymore because you apparently can’t rely on my word.”  
“And Hercules?”  
Iolaus sighed and shrugged again. “He said it was a fucking stupid idea.”  
“He’s your best friend!” Luke shook his head. “I thought at least he is on your side!”  
“I thought so too,” Iolaus replied. “But even he said that it’s tough luck and that you shouldn’t bet your hair if you don’t mean it.”  
“He has a point,” Luke said before realising what he had just said. 

Iolaus spun around, tears of shame and fury in his eyes, and before Luke could think of anything to say, the door to the bedroom slammed shut. 

Luke shook his head with a heavy sigh and followed, then knocked gently on the door. 

“Iolaus?”  
“Fuck off!”  
“Oh come on.”  
“I thought at least you are on my side!” Iolaus’ voice was rough.  
“I am!”  
“Great way of showing it!”

Luke dropped his head against the doorframe with a groan. 

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, just loud enough so Iolaus could hear him. “I was talking right out of my arse again.”

Iolaus didn’t reply. 

“I’m sorry, okay? I know that it was the absolute last thing you wanted to hear.”

Still no answer.

Luke pushed himself off the doorframe, turned around and headed for the kitchen again. He cast one last look at the bedroomdoor over his shoulder, and went to make himself a coffee.

As he drank, his mind was made up, and because Iolaus was in no mood for any form of conversation, Luke left without a word.

* * *

Luke knew where Hercules lived, Iolaus’ best friend since high school, because he had picked him up there a few times. Hercules was surprised to see him, but not unpleasantly so.

“Hey Luke,” he said with a smile. “Looking for Iolaus? He’s not here, I’m afraid.”  
“Actually,” Luke began hesitantly, “I’m looking for you.”  
Hercules narrowed his eyes.  
“Look, you know what this is about. Don’t make him do this.”

Hercules crossed his arms, any trace of a smile gone from his face. “He brought this onto himself, you know?”  
“But this is ridiculous! He’s absolutely gutted!”  
“Of course he is!” Hercules pressed his lips together. “But that’s not my problem.”  
“I thought you are his friend?” Luke gritted his teeth for a moment.  
“I am,” Hercules replied coldly. “And I tried to stop him. He wouldn’t listen.”

Luke dragged both hands down his face with a groan. 

“What was this about, anyway?” He asked after a moment.  
“We were at Lilith’s party,” Hercules said after leaning against the wall. “And we were outside, and someone found that football. We started dicking around with it.”  
Luke lifted both eyebrows.  
“And then Iolaus started bragging about a trickshot,” Hercules went on. “Off the wall, off the trash container, bench, tree, bench again and into the garden pond.”

Luke was shaking his head very slowly. 

“I told him like twenty times it wouldn’t work, and I told him a bazillion times betting his hair is crazy. I tried to stop him. I really did.”  
Luke looked up again.  
“He made the bed,” Hercules said. “He better lie down in it.”  
“And he’s a pariah for it.”

Hercules pushed himself off the wall and leaned forward. “He’s a pariah because he’s a coward and can’t keep his word.”  
“It was a stupid bet!”  
“And we all told him not to do it!” Hercules growled. “I’m his friend, but I swear sometimes him being such a cocky shit annoys the fuck out of me!”

Luke shook his head again.

“And you know,” Hercules went on. “Sending you to get his arse out of trouble makes it only worse.”  
“He has no idea I’m here,” Luke replied sharply.  
“Then you should let him deal with his fuck-ups,” Hercules gave back. “You’re not his mum.”

Having no idea what else to say, Luke shrugged while still shaking his head. 

“It’s not that I hate him now,” Hercules said, much gentler. “But he really made an ass out of himself, and I have other friends who tell me he’s a vain little coward.”  
“And is he?”  
Hercules took his time to reply. “I don’t like saying this,” he said in a low voice. “But in this case, I think he is.”  
“Some friend you are.”  
“Hey, it’s not my fault,” Hercules replied. “It’s not the first time he’s been making such an ass out of himself. And it’s just hair, after all. What’s the big deal.”

They looked at each other for a moment, then Luke took a deep breath. 

Hercules tried to smile. “I really don’t hate him, you know? I actually feel kind of sorry for him. But I can’t haul his ass out of trouble all the time.”  
“And neither should I, hmm?”  
“And neither should you, boyfriend or not.”

Luke lifted both hands and dropped them again. “Sorry to bother you,” he said. “Bye.”  
“Bye, Luke.”

When Luke came back home, Iolaus was sitting on the sofa, hands buried in his hair. His face was pale and his eyes red and swollen. 

“I’m such an idiot,” he whispered, sounding absolutely miserable.  
“As you said, it wasn’t your proudest moment,” Luke replied as he sat down. 

A heavy silence hung in the air. 

“I’m going to lose all my friends because of this, won’t I?”  
“I don’t think so,” Luke replied gently. “But they’re not exactly happy right now.”

Iolaus slowly lifted his head, his eyes burning. “Where have you been? Have you been talking to Herc?”  
“Yes,” Luke replied, calmly meeting Iolaus’ eyes. “And I can tell you that he doesn’t hate you.”  
“But he thinks I have to own up to my own shit.”  
“He does.”

“And you?” Iolaus asked in a low, rough voice. “You think so too?”  
“Yes and no,” Luke said cautiously. “Yes because I think everyone should own up to mistakes, and no because I think shaving your head for such a stupid bet is a bit harsh.”  
Iolaus didn’t reply.  
“It would be a shame,” Luke said and brushed a strand of Iolaus’ hair from his face. “But you have to make that decision yourself.”

“It’s going to take at least two years to grow back!” Iolaus wiped a tear from his cheek. “And I’m going to look ugly as fuck! And everyone is going to take the piss and I will never hear the end of this!”  
“Yes,” Luke said and rested a hand on Iolaus’ cheek. “And no. It will take a couple of years, but you’re not ugly. You’re not defined by your haircut.”  
“So you’re saying I have to do it?”  
“You have to decide what to do,” Luke replied. “And I would totally understand if you don’t want to do it. I’d be having a hard time with that myself.”  
“But you haven’t lost a stupid bet while being drunk.”  
“No.”

His hands clasped between his knees, Iolaus stared straight ahead. 

“But we don’t even have clippers,” he said hoarsely. “I’d have to do it with scissors and that’ll look even more awful.”

Luke put an arm around his shoulders, but then he narrowed his eyes in thought. 

“I have an idea,” he said after a moment. “We get you a hairdresser appointment for tomorrow afternoon. You can tell your friends that. I mean, it’s not even a lie that we don’t have clippers.”

Iolaus looked at him, a tear trickling down his cheek. Luke reached out and brushed it away with his thumb.

“And don’t you dare think I would love you any less without your hair,” he said and leaned forward. “I didn’t fall in love with your ponytail back then.”

He dropped a soft kiss onto Iolaus’ lips before pulling him close. Iolaus buried into his embrace, but he had stopped crying.

* * *

It had been clear that his friends weren’t happy, and that they didn’t believe Iolaus would do it. They were convinced he was weaselling his way out of his bet, and since no one at the party had kept the incident a secret, Iolaus was being teased at every corner for the whole of Tuesday. He was a mess when Luke picked him up at the university library that afternoon. 

Iolaus pinched his eyes shut as the hairdresser draped the cape around his shoulders, but he didn’t have to fight his tears anymore. 

The hairdresser had quickly and efficiently washed his hair and then parted it into ten neat, equal strands, each secured with several elastics. Now she gave Iolaus a last, questioning look, and he swallowed hard, but nodded. 

It took only moments to cut off the strands that she put neatly into a box, wrapped in soft paper. The remaining stubble was swiftly trimmed with a pair of clippers, but Luke had told her not to take it all off so his head wouldn’t be completely bare. 

“If they think those few millimetres are still too much then they’re crueller than they have any right to be,” he said. 

Iolaus looked at his image in the mirror with a desolate stare, but nodded with a shaky breath, his eyes on the cardboard box the hairdresser was sealing with tape. 

Luke spoiled him with dinner and a massage that evening, and he made love to Iolaus for most of the night, leaving no doubt that he had meant what he had told Iolaus the night before.

* * *

It being December, and cold and windy, Iolaus was wearing a knitted beanie the next morning when he went to uni as his head felt uncomfortably cold without his hair. 

Ares intercepted him on the way to the lecture hall, a big sneer on his face. 

“You think that makes it any better?” He pointed at the beanie. “Wimp.”

Before Iolaus could say anything Ares grabbed the beanie and tore it off. People around them snickered and snorted.

Iolaus shrugged. “Yeah, well...” he began. “I lost the bet, didn’t I?”  
“Honestly?” Ares tossed the beanie at him and Iolaus caught it, his fingers closing around it. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”  
Iolaus shrugged again. “I’d better own up to my fuck-ups, right? So I bit the bullet and made the best of it.”  
“How can you make the best of that?” Ares said with an evil little chuckle.

Now Iolaus met his eyes with a small smile. “Oh, I had a chat with the hairdresser, because we had an idea, or rather, Luke had. So I went and donated the hair to a charity that makes wigs for children with cancer.”

Those words were followed by a stunned silence. 

After a moment Ares, clearly deprived of his chance of taking the piss now, turned on his heel and left. Someone slapped Iolaus’ back, and he turned around to find Hercules grin at him. He draped an arm across Iolaus’ shoulders. 

“Fancy a coffee later?”  
“Am I back in grace?”

Hercules ruffled Iolaus’ hair, or what was left of it.

Iolaus jumped back. “Asshole!”

“Next time maybe you think before running off at the mouth like that,” Jason said and crossed his arms. His smile wasn’t as broad as usual, but it was there.  
“Guess I will.”  
Hercules chuckled. “That was never your strong suit though.”  
“Maybe I’d better learn then,” Iolaus replied with a crooked grin.  
“Maybe you should,” Hercules said with a grin of his own. “Though that’s not bloody likely.”  
“Hey!” Iolaus gave him a hurt look. 

They all laughed now, but it was a good natured laughter, one that Iolaus was able to join after a moment. Further mayhem was prevented by the appearance of their professor, and Hercules slapped Iolaus’ back one more time before they entered the lecture hall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote an alternate ending because I felt sorry for Iolaus.

“You did what?!”

Iolaus flinched and hung his head in shame. 

“It wasn’t exactly one of my proudest moments,” he said. “Fuck,” he then added for good measure. 

Luke buried his hands in his hair and regarded his boyfriend who stood before him like a beaten dog. 

“Iolaus,” he said, gentler now. “It was a party. You were drunk. No one can possibly make you do this.”  
Iolaus looked up at him, his mouth a thin line. “Turned out none of us were too drunk not to remember,” he muttered. “They were giving me funny looks this morning.”  
“Funny looks?” Luke adjusted his glasses.

“You know,” Iolaus said and shrugged. “I mean I had a whole Sunday to do it, and here I show up Monday morning for lectures like this...” He tugged at his hair. “Ares said I’m a coward, and Jason won’t speak to me anymore because you apparently can’t rely on my word.”  
“And Hercules?”  
Iolaus sighed and shrugged again. “He said it was a fucking stupid idea.”  
“He’s your best friend!” Luke shook his head. “I thought at least he is on your side!”  
“I thought so too,” Iolaus replied. “But even he said that it’s tough luck and that you shouldn’t bet your hair if you don’t mean it.”  
“He has a point,” Luke said before realising what he had just said. 

Iolaus spun around, tears of shame and fury in his eyes, and before Luke could think of anything to say, the door to the bedroom slammed shut. 

Luke shook his head with a heavy sigh and followed, then knocked gently on the door. 

“Iolaus?”  
“Fuck off!”  
“Oh come on.”  
“I thought at least you are on my side!” Iolaus’ voice was rough.  
“I am!”  
“Great way of showing it!”

Luke dropped his head against the doorframe with a groan. 

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, just loud enough so Iolaus could hear him. “I was talking right out of my arse again.”

Iolaus didn’t reply. 

“I’m sorry, okay? I know that it was the absolute last thing you wanted to hear.”

Still no answer.

Luke pushed himself off the doorframe, turned around and headed for the kitchen again. He cast one last look at the bedroomdoor over his shoulder, and went to make himself a coffee.

As he drank, his mind was made up, and because Iolaus was in no mood for any form of conversation, Luke left without a word.

* * *

Luke knew where Hercules lived, Iolaus’ best friend since high school, because he had picked him up there a few times. Hercules was surprised to see him, but not unpleasantly so.

“Hey Luke,” he said with a smile. “Looking for Iolaus? He’s not here, I’m afraid.”  
“Actually,” Luke began hesitantly, “I’m looking for you.”  
Hercules narrowed his eyes.  
“Look, you know what this is about. Don’t make him do this.”

Hercules crossed his arms, any trace of a smile gone from his face. “He brought this onto himself, you know?”  
“But this is ridiculous! He’s absolutely gutted!”  
“Of course he is!” Hercules pressed his lips together. “But that’s not my problem.”  
“I thought you are his friend?” Luke gritted his teeth for a moment.  
“I am,” Hercules replied coldly. “And I tried to stop him. He wouldn’t listen.”

Luke dragged both hands down his face with a groan. 

“What was this about, anyway?” He asked after a moment.  
“We were at Lilith’s party,” Hercules said after leaning against the wall. “And we were outside, and someone found that football. We started dicking around with it.”  
Luke lifted both eyebrows.  
“And then Iolaus started bragging about a trickshot,” Hercules went on. “Off the wall, off the trash container, bench, tree, bench again and into the garden pond.”

Luke was shaking his head very slowly. 

“I told him like twenty times it wouldn’t work, and I told him a bazillion times betting his hair is crazy. I tried to stop him. I really did.”  
Luke looked up again.  
“He made the bed,” Hercules said. “He better lie down in it.”  
“And he’s a pariah for it.”

Hercules pushed himself off the wall and leaned forward. “He’s a pariah because he’s a coward and can’t keep his word.”  
“It was a stupid bet!”  
“And we all told him not to do it!” Hercules growled. “I’m his friend, but I swear sometimes him being such a cocky shit annoys the fuck out of me!”

Luke shook his head again.

“And you know,” Hercules went on. “Sending you to get his arse out of trouble makes it only worse.”  
“He has no idea I’m here,” Luke replied sharply.  
“Then you should let him deal with his fuck-ups,” Hercules gave back. “You’re not his mum.”

Having no idea what else to say, Luke shrugged while still shaking his head. 

“It’s not that I hate him now,” Hercules said, much gentler. “But he really made an ass out of himself, and I have other friends who tell me he’s a vain little coward.”  
Luke narrowed his eyes. “And is he?”  
Hercules took his time to reply. “I don’t like saying this,” he said in a low voice. “But in this case, I think he is.”  
“Some friend you are.”  
“Hey, it’s not my fault,” Hercules replied. “It’s not the first time he’s been making such an ass out of himself. And it’s just hair, after all. What’s the big deal.”

They looked at each other for a moment, then Luke took a deep breath. 

Hercules tried to smile. “I really don’t hate him, you know? I actually feel kind of sorry for him. But I can’t haul his ass out of trouble all the time.”  
“And neither should I, hmm?”  
“And neither should you, boyfriend or not.”

Luke slowly crossed his arms and regarded Hercules for a moment. Hercules licked his lips, visibly nervous under that stare. 

“You know what,” Luke said eventually. “Do you accept everything a drunken person says at face value?”  
Hercules crossed his arms.  
“Don’t get me wrong,” Luke continued. “I know Iolaus can be a cocky little shit, but we also know how much he likes his looks. Do you really think shaving his head is something he would do when sober?”  
“He...” Hercules took a deep breath and cleared his throat.  
“He? Yes?” Luke kept his voice pointedly calm and low.

“Oh come on,” Hercules said after a moment. “It was a bet!”  
“And he was drunk. And I don’t think any of you were sober.”  
“Of course not, it was a birthday party!”

Luke smiled, but it was a smile that would make small, furry creatures nervous. “And if he told... what’s-his-name... that asshole from the rugby team...”  
“Ares?”  
“That’s the one.” Luke adjusted his stance. “If he told Ares he’d suck his cock if he loses? Would you have made him kneel and suck Ares’ cock?”  
“What?” Hercules stretched out his arms with an incredulous, mirthless grin. “Are you fucking sick? Of course not!”  
“Why not?”  
“Because he... was... ugh, okay.” Hercules took a deep breath. “You’re talking about someone who’s drunk can’t give consent and so on, right?”  
“You’re a fast one,” Luke replied.

Hercules dropped his head back and combed his hair back with both hands. 

“Right,” he said and lowered his arms again. “Right, I get it.”  
“You’d better,” Luke said. “I know Iolaus’ mouth gets him in trouble all the time, but this is a humiliation long past funny, and you know that or you wouldn’t feel sorry for him.”  
Hercules swallowed the reply he had on his lips.  
“Friends watch out for each other,” Luke went on. “They don’t let each other run into open knives when drunk.”  
“I get it, okay?!” Hercules stepped back with a snort. “I get it.”

“Look,” Luke said after a moment. “I know Iolaus as well as you do. I know his habit of thinking before speaking. But right now he’s sitting at home and is totally gutted, he’s in tears, and he hates himself. Isn’t that enough... punishment?”

Hercules looked at his feet and gave a one-sided shrug before looking up again. “I guess it is,” he said meekly.  
“So...”  
“So.” Hercules looked up again. “I get it. I get your point. And you’re right about being drunk and all that. And I’m pretty sure that Jason will see the point as well. I have my doubts about Ares, though.”  
“Ares can suck my hairy balls,” Luke said darkly, and the slightly unsettling smile was back. “And he has no idea how hairy they are.”

Hercules’s answer was a nervous, little smile. 

“Thank you,” Luke said before turning around. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Um... sure,” Hercules replied. “Take care. Tell him I’m sorry.”

Luke tipped the imaginary brim of an imaginary hat and turned around again.

* * *

When Luke came back home, Iolaus was sitting on the sofa, hands buried in his hair. His face was pale and his eyes red and swollen. 

“I’m such an idiot,” he whispered, sounding absolutely miserable.  
“As you said, it wasn’t your proudest moment,” Luke replied as he sat down. 

A heavy silence hung in the air. 

“I’m going to lose all my friends because of this, won’t I?”  
“No you won’t.”

Iolaus slowly lifted his head, his eyes burning. “Where have you been? Have you been talking to Herc?”  
“Yes,” Luke replied, calmly meeting Iolaus’ eyes. “And I can tell you that he doesn’t hate you.”  
“But he thinks I have to own up to my own shit.”  
“He does.” Luke draped an arm around Iolaus’ shoulder. “But I told him what I think of this instance, and he had to agree.”  
“Agree to what?” Iolaus asked in a slightly trembling voice.

“That the rule of ‘if someone is drunk they can’t give consent’ applies.” Luke brushed a strand of hair from Iolaus’ face. “It doesn’t count. It’s not valid.”  
Iolaus’ eyes widened.  
“I asked him if he would have let you suck Ares’ cock if that had been the stake. He saw my point.”  
Shaking his head, Iolaus shuddered. “I think I’d rather shave my head than do that.”  
“Good thing then that you have to do neither,” Luke replied with a smile. 

Iolaus looked up at him, his eyes brimming with tears. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Luke sighed, wiped the tear from his cheek that had broken free, and burying his hands in Iolaus’ golden mane, leaned forward to kiss him.


End file.
